Enhanced recordation device for rail car inspections

• US 8,292,172 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2007
• Issued: 10/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Global Sourcing LLC (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Logan, Prescott, Davenport, David, Hershey, John, Bhotika, Rahul, Mitchell, Robert, Andarawis, Emad, Welles, Kenneth, Wetzel, Robert Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thien M
• Assistant Examiner(s): JOHNSON, SONJI N
• Application Number:
  US11/785,904
• Publication Number:
  US 20070194115A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,013 Days
• Field of Search: 702/182
• US Class Current: 235/385
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 17/00 Switching systems for classification yards
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/57 for vehicles or trains, e.g. trackside supervision of train conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 1/20 Checking timed patrols, e.g. of watchman
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 3/14 Quality control systems

Abstract

A device for conducting rail car inspections including an inspection module, an imaging module, a scanner module, a location module, a printer module and a communication module.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer usable medium having one or more computer readable program code modules embodied in said medium for recording results of a rail car inspection, the one or more computer readable program code modules configured to direct a processor to;

determine a geographic location of a device on a communications network having a management information system;

provide a preformatted display on the device relating to a rail car inspection and to receive user input;

scan computer readable identification information to identify a rail car that is a subject of the rail car inspection;

print information representative of the rail car inspection;

create a photographic image representative of the rail car inspection; and

transmit the information representative of the rail car inspection or the photographic image to the management information system, wherein the one or more computer readable program code modules are configured to direct the processor to prevent transmission of the information representative of the rail car inspection to the management information system after completion of the rail car inspection when the device is outside of a designated vicinity of the rail car that is the subject of the rail car inspection.

4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the information representative of the rail car inspection includes a rail car inspection report.

5. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the information that is printed includes a bad order tag for the rail car.

6. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the one or more computer readable program code modules are configured to provide an interactive display on the device of pull down menus corresponding to selected options for a user of the device.

7. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the one or more computer readable program code modules are configured to provide preformatted forms that are pre-filled in with one or more of the geographic location of the device, the computer readable identification information of the rail car, or the photographic image of the rail car.

8. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the one or more computer readable program code modules are configured to transmit the geographic location of the device at a location of the rail car inspection so that the management information system can at least one of restrict use of a track on which the rail car being inspected is located by one or more other rail cars or allow use of one or more other tracks on which the rail car being inspected is not located by the one or more other rail cars.

9. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the one or more computer readable program code modules are configured to obtain a maintenance history of the rail car that is the subject of the rail car inspection from the management information system when the device is within the designated vicinity of the rail car.

2. The computer program product of claim l wherein the one or more computer readable program code modules are configured to direct the processor to at least one of provide the preformatted display on the device, scan the computer readable identification information, print the information representative of the rail car inspection, create the photographic image, or transmit the information representative of the rail car inspection only when the device enters a predetermined geographic area around the rail car.

3. The computer program product of claim 2 wherein the predetermined geographic area corresponds to a portion of a rail yard authorized for rail car inspections.

10. A non-transitory computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer usable medium having one or more computer readable program code modules embodied in said medium and configured to direct a processor to;

determine a geographic location of a device on a communications network;

provide a preformatted display on the device that relates to a rail car inspection and to receive user input; and

scan computer readable identification information to identify a rail car that is a subject of the rail car inspection;

wherein the one or more computer readable program code modules are configured to direct the processor to prevent transmission of information representative of the rail car inspection to a remote management information system after completion of the rail car inspection when the geographic location of the device is outside a predetermined geographic area around the rail car that is the subject of the rail car inspection.

11. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the predetermined geographic area corresponds to a portion of a rail yard authorized for rail car inspections.

12. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the one or more computer readable program code modules are configured to direct the processor to print the information representative of the rail ear inspection.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the information that is printed includes a bad order tag for the rail car.

14. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the one or more computer readable program code modules are configured to direct the processor to create a photographic image.

15. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the one or more computer readable program code modules are configured to transmit the geographic location of the device at a location of the rail car inspection so that the management information system can at least one of restrict use of a track on which the rail car being inspected is located by one or more other rail cars or allow use of one or more other tracks on which the rail car being inspected is not located by the one or more other rail cars.

16. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the one or more computer readable program code modules are configured to obtain a maintenance history of the rail car that is the subject of the rail car inspection from the management information system when the device is within the predetermined geographic area around the rail car.

17. A system comprising:

a database containing information relevant to rail cars being inspected and information related to a rail yard; and

a handheld processor including;

a display for providing a menu of options for conducting a rail car inspection of a rail car and recording user input in response to the menu;

a location module for determining a geographic location of the handheld processor; and

a transceiver in communication with said database for communicating the user input and the geographic location of the handheld processor to the database;

wherein the handheld processor is configured to prevent transmission of the user input to the database upon completion of the rail car inspection when the geographic location of the handheld processor is outside a designated vicinity around the rail car that is a subject of the rail car inspection.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the handheld processor includes a printer for printing the user input.

19. The system of claim 17 wherein the handheld processor includes a scanner for identifying the rail car that is the subject of the rail car inspection.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein the handheld processor includes an imaging device to capture an image of the rail car.

21. The system of claim 17 further comprising a glove for receiving one or more fingers, the glove including a stylus extending from at least one of the one or more fingers to facilitate communicating the user input to the display.

22. The system of claim 17 wherein the handheld processor is configured to receive the user input when the geographic location of the handheld processor is within a predetermined geographic boundary.

23. The system of claim 17, wherein the handheld processor is configured to transmit the geographic location of the handheld processor at a location of the rail car inspection so that a remotely located management information system can at least one of restrict use of a track on which the rail car being inspected is located by one or more other rail cars or allow use of one or more other tracks on which the rail car being inspected is not located by the one or more other rail cars.

24. The system of claim 17, wherein the handheld processor is configured to obtain a maintenance history of the rail car that is the subject of the rail car inspection from a remotely located management information system when the handheld processor is within the designated vicinity of the rail car.